Driver in deadly bus crash not licensed to drive out of state

Published 6:00 pm, Friday, January 4, 2008

The driver of a charter bus that rolled over on its way back to Houston from Monterrey, Mexico, killing one person and injuring dozens more, did not have a license to drive a commercial vehicle outside Texas, according to state records.

Driver Roberto Garcia Cruz, 42, of Houston, only had an "intrastate" commercial license, meaning that he was only licensed to drive commercial vehicles inside Texas.

Cruz was driving a bus owned by Capricorn Bus Lines of Houston early Wednesday morning when he misjudged a curve and lost control of the vehicle near Victoria. The bus, which was carrying 46 passengers, flipped on its side, killing one man. A female passenger whose arm was amputated after the wreck has filed a lawsuit.

Records from the Texas Department of Public Safety's driver records division also show that Cruz has three convictions for drunken driving, the last time in 2000. According to DPS records, Cruz was first convicted of driving while intoxicated in a Harris County court in September 1991, and completed a DWI education program three months later. His second DWI conviction took place in June 1993, and was followed by a third in November 2000.

The next month, Cruz's license was suspended for three months for refusing to submit to alcohol testing.

Because the violations occurred in a personal vehicle before 2005, they would not have prevented him from obtaining a commercial driver's license in Texas. Today, any commercial driver with a drunken driving conviction in a personal vehicle faces license suspension.

Authorities have also said they're investigating whether driver fatigue was a factor in the accident. Cruz, 42 was the only driver aboard at the time of the wreck.

At the crash scene, Cruz initially told Victoria County sheriff's deputies he had fallen asleep. But later, Cruz told DPS investigators he was awake but misjudged the curve, the DPS has said.

Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board also tested Cruz to determine if alcohol or drugs may have been involved, said Pete Kotowski, the investigator in charge. They are awaiting results.

The NTSB sent a team of investigators to Victoria for an on-scene investigation into the cause of the crash.

The investigators will examine the vehicle for any mechanical defects or failures, study the bus' operational history and maintenance records, review the driver's driving history, work habits and driving logs, and look at any road or environmental factors that may have played a role in the Wednesday crash.

The NTSB, which is conducting the investigation in cooperation with the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, expects the on-scene investigation to continue for about a week, Kotowski said. A final report determining the probable cause of the crash will likely take 12 to 18 months to complete.